Concrete Contractor in Colton, CA - Slabs Built From the Base Up

Call the city's Building & Safety Division at (909) 370-5079, because its permit list says it isn't complete and it doesn't name driveways or patios either way. That list does name every retaining wall, whether it's new or being torn down, and new buildings such as garages and carports. If your job is on that list, plan on a permit before any concrete goes in.

Yes, the city requires a Colton business license from anyone doing work inside city limits, right down to a gardener. It matters to you because a building permit doesn't get its final approval until the city's business license office has the list of everyone who worked on the job and every one of them holds a city license. It's worth asking before you sign.

No more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, under the state contractors board's rules. Every other payment has to be written into the contract and tied to work that's done or materials that have been delivered, so a big payment before anything has happened doesn't line up with that rule.

The price comes down to the size, the base work and the finish, and you get it in writing after I've seen the site. Breaking out an old slab, hauling it off and digging out soft ground all add to it, while a plain broom finish, the light texture that keeps it from getting slick, costs less than stamping or color. If the budget's tight, I'd cut the fancy finish before I'd cut the base, because the base is hidden on day one and it's what keeps the slab flat for years.

Usually it's a weak base or missing joints, and in parts of Colton the ground adds to it. The San Jacinto fault zone runs through the city, and the city's safety plan maps ground prone to liquefaction, where shaking can turn loose, wet soil soft, along both banks of the Santa Ana River and around Reche Canyon. We can't stop the ground from moving, so we dig out and pack the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, and cut control joints on time, which are shallow grooves that give the slab a place to crack in a straight line instead of across the middle.

You can usually walk on it well before you can drive on it, and I give you both dates before we pour. Concrete needs time to cure, which is the slow hardening that gives it its strength, and a car on it too soon can crack an edge that would've been fine. What moves the schedule up front is whether a permit is needed and how much digging the base takes, so we plan around your parking at the estimate.